On the six-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protesters swarmed its birthplace –Zuccotti Park – again sparking the cat-and-mouse clashes between New York City police officers and demonstrators.

The sweep of the park by police just before midnight capped a day of demonstrations and marching in lower Manhattan. There was no official word on the number of arrests but dozens of people were handcuffed and led out of the park.

Earlier in the day, 15 people were arrested and three officers suffered injuries, police said.

An unused public transit bus was brought in to cart away about a dozen demonstrators in plastic handcuffs.

Dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested during the weekend as police cleared New York's Zuccotti Park, where demonstrators had gathered for the struggling movement's six-month anniversary.
The park remained closed on Sunday with a sprinkling of police surrounding it, keeping the area clear while crews cleaned up following Saturday night's protests. A sweep just before midnight, when roughly 300 demonstrators had gathered in the park, capped a day of protests and marching in lower Manhattan.

The New York Police Department said it arrested 73 protesters between Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning.

Ed Needham, one of several members of the leaderless movement's press team, said the weekend's flare-up could draw renewed attention to Occupy Wall Street.

"Every time they use violence to put us down, it only increases the number of people that are empathetic to the cause. It adds fuel to the fire and draws attention to the movement," he said.

"Mayor Bloomberg did us a big help last night in terms of fundraising. But it's not just about the financial aspects - it's not about people writing checks, although they will, it's about people standing up to be counted."

Inspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring, the Wall Street protesters targeted U.S. financial policies they blamed for the yawning income gap between rich and poor in the country, between what they called the 1 percent and the 99 percent. The demonstrators set up camp in Zuccotti Park on September 17 and sparked a wave of protests across the United States.

On Saturday evening, several dozen police ringed the park and watched the crowd. Detective Brian Sessa said no action would be taken as long as the activists made no move to establish a camp.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., some protesters began to erect tents near the center of the park and police began to move in, according to protester Cari Machet.

When about 100 officers entered the park, dozens of protesters sat on the ground and refused orders to leave. They were then carried out in plastic handcuffs and put in police vehicles.

The park was cleared within 20 minutes and by midnight no protesters remained in its boundaries.

ANNIVERSARY GAMES OF CAT AND MOUSE

Events got under way near midday on Saturday, with street theater troupes performing and guitar players leading sing-alongs. Some boisterous protesters marched through the streets of the financial district, chanting "bankers are gangsters" and cursing at police.

As they have in past marches, protesters led police on a series of cat-and-mouse chases. Marchers at the front of the crowd would suddenly turn down narrow side streets, startling tourists and forcing police to send officers on motor scooters to contain the crowd.

The movement has made headlines for its clashes with police after campsites were set up for months in cities from New York to California. The camps were eventually shut down by authorities citing zoning regulations and public health concerns.

Protester Paul Sylvester, 24, of Massachusetts said he was "thrilled" to be back at the park but said he hoped the movement would begin to crystallize around specific goals.

"We need to be more concrete and specific," he said. Critics say the Occupy movement lacks direction and clear demands.

It continues to draw celebrities, however. On Saturday night, independent filmmaker Michael Moore strode through the park before the police incursion.

"I think it's great that this movement continues to grow," Moore said. "I think the goals are clear. People are concerned that they have no control over their own democracy. They have no control over their own lives.

"This is the beginning. This park is sacred ground for millions across the country."

In New York, the Occupy movement lost significant momentum in November when a pre-dawn sweep broke up the encampment at Zuccotti. Occupy protests in Oakland, California, in January led to police firing tear gas into crowds of protesters and more than 200 were arrested.

Protester Paul Sylvester, 24, of Massachusetts said he was "thrilled" to be back at the park but said he hoped the movement would begin to crystallize around specific goals.

"We need to be more concrete and specific," he said. Critics say the Occupy movement lacks direction and clear demands.

It continues to draw celebrities, however. On Saturday night, independent filmmaker Michael Moore strode through the park before the police incursion.

"I think it's great that this movement continues to grow," Moore said. "I think the goals are clear. People are concerned that they have no control over their own democracy. They have no control over their own lives.

And the solution to a loss of control over their own Democracy is to attack police, crap on police cars, commit various and sundry crimes against everyone within range, including other protesters, and hold a drum circle. Those are some real clear goals there, Moore-on. :rolleyes:

NJCardFan

03-19-2012, 02:28 AM

And the solution to a loss of control over their own Democracy is to attack police, crap on police cars, commit various and sundry crimes against everyone within range, including other protesters, and hold a drum circle. Those are some real clear goals there, Moore-on. :rolleyes:

Actually, these people who feel they "don't have control over their lives" want to turn control over to the government. Seems contradictory to me. Think about it. Their meme is:

Give me free healthcare
give me free housing
give me free food

Sounds like control over one's life to me.:rolleyes:

Odysseus

03-19-2012, 02:38 AM

Actually, these people who feel they "don't have control over their lives" want to turn control over to the government. Seems contradictory to me. Think about it. Their meme is:

Give me free healthcare
give me free housing
give me free food

Sounds like control over one's life to me.:rolleyes:

They're adolescents who have put off adulthood as long as they possibly could. Their demands are basically a desire to return to being cared for by their parents, or, if their parents no longer have the means or intent, then the next best thing, a nanny state.

Zathras

03-19-2012, 02:53 AM

Occupy Wall Street is peaceful....not

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0L_ohBBjyI

NJCardFan

03-19-2012, 02:55 AM

They're adolescents who have put off adulthood as long as they possibly could. Their demands are basically a desire to return to being cared for by their parents, or, if their parents no longer have the means or intent, then the next best thing, a nanny state.

But you heard Moore. They want more 'control' over their lives.

m00

03-19-2012, 04:49 AM

Protester Paul Sylvester, 24, of Massachusetts said he was "thrilled" to be back at the park but said he hoped the movement would begin to crystallize around specific goals.

"We need to be more concrete and specific," he said. Critics say the Occupy movement lacks direction and clear demands.

Ya think? And it's really not too hard to think up some reasonable demands. I don't know...

Bring criminal charges against banking executives that engaged in fraud/robo-signing during the housing crisis
Investigate government corruption and collusion between congressmen sitting on financial committees and the entities they were supposed to be watching (but instead, had stock in)
Audit all the banks that took the bailout money (which presumably, was to get them lending again... which they didn't)
Pass legislation against entities that took bailout money from using that money to engage in lobbying, which is an even more gross misuse of taxpayer dollars than what the bailout was originally envisioned as.

SarasotaRepub

03-19-2012, 08:48 AM

The Brigade has a new toy:

http://images.mocpages.com/user_images/67468/1311370651m_SPLASH.jpg

Die Hippie, Die.

:woot: The Hippie Annihilator, Mark II.

Odysseus

03-19-2012, 09:18 AM

Ya think? And it's really not too hard to think up some reasonable demands. I don't know...

Bring criminal charges against banking executives that engaged in fraud/robo-signing during the housing crisis
Investigate government corruption and collusion between congressmen sitting on financial committees and the entities they were supposed to be watching (but instead, had stock in)
Audit all the banks that took the bailout money (which presumably, was to get them lending again... which they didn't)
Pass legislation against entities that took bailout money from using that money to engage in lobbying, which is an even more gross misuse of taxpayer dollars than what the bailout was originally envisioned as.

It's already being done.
Won't happen as long as OWS is in the pocket of the Democratic Party, which was where all of the collusion happened.
Uh-uh. More restrictions and interference implies that the feds have a right to (a) give money away and then use that as a wedge to gain more control over the economy and (b) that the feds actually know what they are doing. The correct answer is to maintain a strict repayment schedule and not do any more bailouts. Ever. Anything that's "too big to fail" is too big to manage. That's what Chapter 11 is for.
The Constitution guarantees the right to petition the government. The real solution is to roll back the federal leviathan so that it isn't picking economic winners and losers, which will roll back the amount of lobbying required to stay in business.